Author Archives: Joe

A Tangent from Tomorrow’s Headlines

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Quote of the Day

Breaking news:
Teacher Arrested At Pearson Airport

A high school teacher was arrested today at Toronto’s Pearson Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a compass, a slide-rule and a calculator.

At a press conference, Premier Mark Carney said he believes
the man is a member of the notorious extremist Al-Gebra movement. He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the OPP with carrying weapons of math instruction.

‘Al-Gebra is a problem for us’, the Premier said. ‘They derive solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in search of absolute values.’

‘They use secret code names like “X” and “Y” and refer to themselves as “unknowns” but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country.”

When asked to comment on the arrest, Prime Minister Carney said, “If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes.”

Fellow Liberal colleagues told reporters they could not recall a more intelligent or profound statement by any Prime Minister.

RC deWinter @RCdeWinter
Posted on X, December 17, 2025

At the present time, I think this is overstating the level of censorship in Canada and an arrest on such a basis is not a real concern. I can, however, see the political powers unable to see the humor.

Give it another year or three, then teachers who promote racist activities, such as math, will be given a modest fine for their first offense and the people such as deWinter who mock the political elite will get prison sentences.

Even it if it is off on a tangent from my usual content, I think It is funny because it has more than a little truth to it.

Will They Start Playing Calvinball?

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SCOTUS’s current practice of deciding like 50 cases a year may have worked in a system where the lower courts acted in good faith. SCOTUS would decide Bruen, and then lower courts would do their best to faithfully apply it.

Instead, the antigun circuits almost always find a way to rule against the Second Amendment except on the specific issues SCOTUS has decided. The Ninth Circuit is now on its 10th en banc to reverse a pro-2A panel ruling.

Sure, maybe SCOTUS will take the occasional case like Wolford and correct a particularly egregious ruling. But the Ninth Circuit’s antigun majority knows there is no way SCOTUS will grant cert to every antigun ruling, or even a large minority of them. So they’ll keep doing what they are doing, and so what if a few get reversed. Most won’t.

To actually correct this, SCOTUS needs to go back to deciding many more cases each year, or alternatively, issue short and curt summary reversals very liberally.

For example, when the Ninth Circuit (probably) upholds the handgun roster’s MDM and CLI requirements, the Supreme Court shouldn’t need a full cert grant and briefing to explain why that is wrong. A one page per curiam saying there is no historical tradition of such “feature” requirements, and California can’t ban popular handguns, would suffice.

Kostas Moros @MorosKostas
Posted on X, December 30, 2025

I would be interested to see what would happen if SCOTUS returned a one page per curium within minutes of when one of these outrageous decisions were punted up to them. An automated AI system could easily do it. If the autopen was good enough for Biden, then an AI should be good enough for SCOTUS, right? Would the lower courts continue playing these games? Or would they start Calvinballing it?

I’m inclined to believe we will not get 2nd Amendment justice until people are prosecuted.

Something Worth Defending

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Wanna piss of a Eurocrat (or a US based wannabe Eurocrat)? Tell them that you spend money, time and effort to be capable of armed self defense because what you defend is worth it, and at minimum you need to survive until backup arrives, with a realistic expectation of the likelihood of that backup arriving and when. Whereas they have made that same calculation: what they could be defend[ing] is not worth that time, effort or expense. Ergo: you’re worth more than they are, by self-evaluation.

Tirno
January 1, 2026
Comment to Little Willingness to Defend Themselves

I’m not sure I would always use this in a manner to intended to piss off whoever I was talking to. There are certain occasions and people who this sentiment could be expressed to in a manner that would give the recipient something profound to think about.

Another Violation of Huffman’s First Rule of Recreational Explosives

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First a reminder:

Huffman’s First Rule of Recreational Explosives:

Never put anything between your body and the explosives which may require a surgeon to remove.

See also:

Understanding of Current Events (Maybe)

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In war, truth is the first casualty. Hence, it is going to be extremely difficult to know the truth of the current events in Iran and Venezuela. For now, I’m going with the content of these two videos as a first approximation of background material.

The Warmth Comes from the Fire of Gunpowder and/or Ovens

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We will draw this city closer together. We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.

Zohran Mamdani
New York City Mayor
January 1, 2026
Bishop Barron rips Mamdani’s ‘warmth of collectivism’ remark: ‘For God’s sake’ | Fox News
Conservatives sound alarm over Zohran Mamdani’s ‘collectivism’ comment | Fox News

Spell checker wanted to correct Mamdani to “Madman”. I wonder if it there is some significance to that.

If you want an economic argument as to why Mamdani’s plans are a really, really, bad idea read The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents-The Definitive Edition (The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek, Volume 2): Hayek, F. A., Caldwell, Bruce, Caldwell, Bruce, Caldwell, Bruce: 9780226320557: Amazon.com: Books

If you want to read the detailed results of a real-world test case of this political philosophy read The Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Complete 3 Volumes Collection (Volume 1, 2, 3): Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn: Amazon.com: Books.

I don’t want to read any more about it. I want my underground bunker in Idaho*.

If you follow the X post above, you will find the following means and many more:

The difference between the two:

Ricardo Gomes sums it up for me:

* The night of January 1st, 2026 was the first time I spend the night in my underground bunker in Idaho. It’s not really ready, but for this time of year, it is better than the camping trailer. While it will not be completed, I expect that within a month Barb and I would be comfortable here should the need occur. It is not a minute too soon.

How Long Will this Last?

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California’s open-carry ban: Gun law struck down as unconstitutional

California ban on openly carrying guns is unconstitutional, court rules

I expect it will be overturned within a month. Perhaps in as little as a week.

I expect a request for an en banc hearing will be made. Or possibly, the 9th Circuit judges will do it without being requested. The en banc hearing will overrule the three-judge panel and the tyrants will continue to rule unperturbed.

You shouldn’t get upset over it. Just smile and consider the ruling as more evidence to be used at their trials.

Categorical, Presumptive Protection

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Nothing in the plain text of the Second Amendment mentions the size of a magazine or the specific features of a firearm. The plain text provides categorical, presumptive protection for all bearable arms.

Erin M. Erhardt & Joseph G.S. Greenlee
September 8, 2025
Page 8 in 20250908164326764_25-153 Amicus Brief.pdf

In other words, “What part of shall not be infringed don’t they understand?“

Via Cam Edwards.

Little Willingness to Defend Themselves

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Europeans are a people with little willingness to defend themselves. They are people who believe that peace treaties, appeasement, and disarmament produce peace.

Walter E. Williams
October 27, 2009
Walter E. Williams: Obama should refuse the Nobel Prize – Orange County Register

This attitude extends to their attitudes toward the natural right to keep and bear arms.

It appears that with the increasing levels of violent crime in Europe and England combined with the specter of a reformulated USSR the attitude may be dissolving. The question is, “Will it be enough and soon enough to save them?”

The Ukraine may have been too late in learning. Israel took a heavy blow before wising up a small amount.

Excellent Point

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Via The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee:

If the whole situation were not such a tragic waste of money it would be funny.

My only hope is that the maximum amount of restitution is made by everyone criminally involved — down to the level of auctioning off all their salable body parts. An example needs to be made of these people which will be remembered for generations.

None With a longer or Deeper History

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Of all the natural rights codified in the Constitution, none — not freedom of speech, press or religion, or the ability to vote or to demand due process — had a longer or deeper history in our law and tradition than the right to defend oneself.

David Harsanyi
December 19, 2025
Gun-control wackos are actually blaming TRUMP after the shooting at Brown

Excellent point.

A Partial Explanation for TDS

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when your subconscious believes something, it will manipulate your perception of reality to reinforce your belief that you’re right

vik @vikhyatk
Posted on X, December 26, 2025

This is known as Confirmation Bias.

This is why potential jurors are rejected if they were exposed to information about the case prior to being selected for the jury. If they have already formed an opinion, it is very difficult for them to be unbiased when hearing the case.

This is why religious beliefs are rarely significantly changed.

You can see it all around you. It probably is the most obvious in the words and actions of your political advisories, religious beliefs of people with a different faith, and in people defending their family members.

A great deal of TDS can be explained this way. It is very difficult to avoid getting caught up in it. You can catch the more egregious cases in yourself if you take a little bit of time to ask yourself, “Is this too good to be true?” If it is, then you should dig deep to make sure whatever it is you want to believe is actually true. A case in point in the comments of this blog.

At work, while I was on the Cyber Threat Intelligence team, we were specifically trained to watch out for this and other biases. In this type of environment, you assemble a team with different backgrounds. Then you review each other’s work. This helps a bunch, but it is not perfect. I doubt anything practical is perfect. But it can help.

Stop Taking the Poison

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Children. I’d rather live in a low-income trailer park in the US than in a luxury high rise in Europe. Much of the same problems, but in the US there would be a pathway up and out and fairly easy if you stay off drugs, are willing to work your ass off and don’t disdain those trying to help you up.

While in Europe there simply isn’t a way up. They’re bound up with self-righteousness that demands they commit suicide. And their media lies about the US so much they have no idea there is an alternative to their suicide by socialism.

It’s like talking to people who say “Well, of course we drink a little bit of poison at every meal. What would you want us to do? Guzzle the whole bottle at once?” And they can’t hear you when you shout “JUST STOP TAKING THE POISON.” Because they heard that over here where we don’t take the poison — or to be fair, take less poison than they do — we’re dying like flies. AND THEY NEVER CHECK.

Sarah A. Hoyt
December 26, 2025
Europe And Other Lost civilizations – According To Hoyt

I am reminded of people who go into hysterics when it is suggested that the government not be involved in healthcare/education/housing/etc. They can not imagine any sane person could believe that was a good idea and demand, “What would replace it?!!!” Of course, the answer is, “When a fireman puts out the fire consuming your house, what do you replace the fire with?”

We Don’t Want to See That Happen

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Things like this end up in third world wars. And I told that the other day, I said, ‘You know, everybody keeps playing games like this, you’ll end up in a third world war.’ And we don’t want to see that happen.

Donald Trump
U.S. President
December 26, 2025
Trump issues WWIII warning

I want my underground bunker in Idaho to be finished.

Probably Just a Joke

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Arizona State Senator Janae Shamp (R-Surprise) introduced a bill this month ahead of the 2026 legislative session that would instruct the director of the Department of Health Services to “conduct or support research to advance the understanding of Trump Derangement Syndrome [TDS], including its origins, manifestations and long-term effects on individuals, communities and public discourse.”

Senate Bill (SB) 1070 — a bill number historically associated with Arizona’s landmark 2010 immigration law— lays out the reasons why Shamp believes the research is necessary to investigate those who dislike President Donald Trump, and “declares TDS a public health crisis that affects 10 mental health, social cohesion and political stability in this state.”

Named the “Trump Derangement Syndrome Study Act,” the bill will “Requir[e] the department to collaborate with mental health 16 professionals and other stakeholders to develop interventions for mitigating TDS-related division.”

IC
December 26, 2025
Arizona Sen. Janae Shamp Introduces Bill to Study ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ | IntellectualConservative | intellectualconservative.com

The complete bill is here (or, for backup, here).

Hmmm… I wonder if this is more of a joke than a serious effort to study the problem. There does not appear to be any funding for the study, so I suspect it is just something to get a laugh out of Trump supports and a blood pressure rise out of those suffering from TDS.

Gold to hit $10,000 by the End of 2029

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The price of gold is rapidly approaching the S&P 500 stock price index. If the S&P 500 reaches 10,000 by the end of 2029, as we expect, gold should trade at $10,000 if our trend analysis is correct.

Ed Yardeni
December 16, 2025
Forget the bond vigilantes. It’s the gold vigilantes you need to worry about.

See also Long-time strategist Ed Yardeni sets surprise 2026 gold price target and Gold price could hit $10,000 by 2029 end, says Ed Yardeni – CNBC TV18.

Be aware, of course, another way to think of this is that dollars are dropping in value at this rate.

Prepare appropriately.

Why We Fight Them Tooth and Nail

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Nothing outside of a pure ban will satisfy gun banners.

Everything is a red herrings—rate of fire, length of barrel, color, magazine capacity, size of bullet, how loud or quiet it is, everything.

The problem is they are stuck on deodands and the object must be sacrificed for its evilness.

They never focus on the shooter. They never focus on the murderer. It’s always the guns’ fault, never the person using it.

And when they feel they’ve sated themselves on removing one tool, they’ll focus on anything else that could be used as a weapon—knives, clubs, saps, pepper spray, anything.

They do this because their first principle is flawed and they either refuse to see it or are intellectually incapable of doing so.

This is why we fight them tooth and nail, because given their druthers, they’ll ban both of those too.

Robb Allen @ItsRobbAllen
Posted on X, December 22, 2025

Truth.

You can see the evidence in England where they have banned pointy knives and carrying a knife in public without an occupational reason. Canada bans the defensive carry of knives as well. Seattle bans the carrying of air-soft guns and even slingshots.

Into the Woodshed for Long Past Due Education

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I’m really excited about this. For the first time, the DOJ Civil Rights Division and the DOJ at large will be protecting and advancing our citizens’ right to bear arms as part of our civil rights work. Some of the things we’re seeing, and that is going to be the focus of our work around the country, include multi‑thousand‑dollar costs for citizens to apply for concealed‑carry permits.

Harmeet Dhillon
Assistant Attorney General
December 23, 2025
New federal unit targets state gun rules

See also: DOJ sues DC government over AR-15 ban.

Who could have imagined this just 18 months ago? Agreed, they are not changing Federal laws as fast as I think they should either. Why not let people buy guns in any state? Why not let 18 -> 20-year-old adults buy handguns? But going after the states and D.C. makes the cases much easier because they are so egregious.

30 years ago, we expected the Feds to be going door to door by now in the process of taking AR-15s. Instead, they are taking California and DC laws and politicians into the woodshed for a long past due education.

Merry Christmas to gun owners and those who would like to own guns. A stocking with a single lump of coal for the anti-gun people.

People Problem, not a Gun Problem

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There’s an illegal flow of guns into states across the country from a couple states with weaker gun laws. We should at least have a penalty to make sure that we can fund enforcement of this common sense idea.

Jack Schlossberg
U.S. Congressional hopeful for New York’s 12th District
December 20, 2025
Exclusive | JFK’s grandson Jack Schlossberg wants to hit some states for guns flowing to NYC | New York Post

One response in the correct direction:

CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb countered, “How about penalizing New York for all the criminals they release on cashless bail, who then commit crimes in other states?”

The veteran gun rights advocate said New York doesn’t have a “gun  problem, it’s got a criminal justice problem.”

I don’t think this goes far enough. He is right about the criminal justice problem. We have a people problem, not a gun problem. People like Schlossberg should be referred to the criminal justice system for prosecution.

Another Step Closer to Prosecution of Criminal Judges

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Nobody is above the law. This Department will not tolerate obstruction, will enforce federal immigration law, and will hold criminals to account—even those who wear robes.

Todd Blanche
Deputy Attorney General
December 18, 2025
Wisconsin judge convicted of obstructing immigration agents in courthouse

It is good to have a demonstration that at least state judges with be prosecuted for violating Federal law. We still have some distance to go in moving the Overton Window far enough to prosecute them for violating the 2nd Amendment. But this will help make the threat of prosecution, in a year or five, more real.

I hope they enjoy their trials.